Always use centralized helper functions for configuration management instead of direct environment variable access or hardcoded values. This ensures consistency, maintainability, and proper error handling across the codebase. Key practices: - Use `get_secret_str()` utility for sensitive configuration values instead of `os.environ.get()` - Use `str_to_bool()` for boolean environment variables instead of manual string comparison - Create helper functions in common utilities (e.g., `llms/gemini/common_utils.py`) for provider-specific configuration logic - Move hardcoded constants to `constants.py` and control them through environment variables Example of proper configuration handling: ```python # Bad - direct environment access and hardcoded values api_key = os.environ.get("GEMINI_API_KEY") MAX_STRING_LENGTH = 1000 if os.getenv("NO_REDOC", "False") == "True": # Good - using helper utilities api_key = get_secret_str("GEMINI_API_KEY") or get_secret_str("GOOGLE_API_KEY") MAX_STRING_LENGTH = get_secret_str("MAX_STRING_LENGTH_PROMPT_IN_DB", "1000") if str_to_bool(os.getenv("NO_REDOC", "False")): ``` This approach prevents configuration drift, reduces code duplication, and makes configuration behavior predictable across different parts of the system.